


Do You Feel It?

by SometimesAnAries



Series: Learning As We Go [7]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Ballet, Explicit Language, F/F, Hurt No Comfort, I don't actually know that much about ballet so I'm sorry, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Jealousy, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Past Relationship(s), Recreational Drug Use, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, google translate russian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:02:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22622986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SometimesAnAries/pseuds/SometimesAnAries
Summary: Five years has gone by and Serina has moved on. At least, that's what she thought.
Relationships: Original Female Character(s)/Original Female Character(s), Walden Macnair/Evan Rosier
Series: Learning As We Go [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1584997
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	Do You Feel It?

"Your plie' is mediocre at best," an older woman with short blonde hair scoffed.

Serina grit her teeth, trying her best not to roll her eyes at the woman.

"Ok," she said calmly, "Can you tell me what I need to do to improve?"

"I doubt it will help, but you're bending your back, and your knees aren't bent out nearly far enough," the woman criticized.

This time Serina did roll her eyes at the woman. She knew her back wasn't bent. She had been purposely working on that ever since her coach had shouted at her about it. Despite her irritation, Serina did the move again, making sure her back was straight and her knees bent appropriately.

"Is that better?" she asked.

"It would be," the woman spat, "if you would lose the attitude."

Serina almost turned and walked out of the practice right then and there, but she knew that would be considered quitting. She did not plan on quitting because of this woman. That would mean she won, and Serina wasn't about to let this bitch win.

"Yes ma'am," Serina smiled, showing her teeth to the woman.

"Try again," the woman ordered, "and I expect better this time."

Mrs. Yakov despised Serina. There had never been a time that the two had gotten along. Despite trying her best to impress the coach, Serina was never good enough for her. She was one of the coaches for the Royal Ballet, and had been leading the Nutcracker for years. She was a bloody good coach, to those she liked. To Serina, she offered little to no help, and no useful critiques. 

Mrs. Yakov had a daughter who was a few years younger than Serina, and had tried out for the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy just as Serina had. It had been a close call, but in the end it was awarded to Serina, and not the younger girl. She could only suspect that was why the coach had it out for her. Either way, Serina wasn't about to let the woman bring her down. She was honored to be in this position so early in her career, and she was going to do her best to prove she was worth it. She didn't need Mrs. Yakov's praise to do a good job. Serina was capable of doing this on her own.

When practice was finally over, Serina was seething. Mrs. Yakov had done a fantastic job of irritating her today. It was almost like she was purposely working especially hard to get on her nerves. She left the changing room in more comfortable clothing and headed towards the exit.

"Hey," a girl called.

Serina turned around and saw Eva walking up to her. Eva was the lead girl in the production. She was smaller than Serina, something she didn't see often, and had long blonde hair and strikingly green eyes. Serina stopped and turned to face the girl, waiting for her to catch up.

"Don't worry about her," Eva said, tilting her head in the direction of the coach, "She's got a stick up her arse today."

"A particularly large one," Serina nodded in agreement.

She was glad she wasn't the only one seeing the torture being forced upon her by Mrs. Yakov. Some others in the production had caught onto it as well. She was a hard coach in general, but she almost always made sure to take her anger out on Serina.

"Otlichnaya rabota segodnya," a man with a soft voice said.

"Sure," Serina nodded, "Whatever you say."

Roman was Serina's duet partner. He was also very Russian. So Russian that he didn't speak a word of English. Serina was bilingual, but not in Russian. She didn't know a word of the language. It made their duet practice quite interesting. 

Roman was a bloody good dancer, and he had been in the Nutcracker for more years than Mrs. Yakov had been coaching. He was a huge help to Serina when it came to that. When they had first started dancing together, he would try telling her where she was messing up. Now that they both understood the language barrier, he would stop her and try acting out her mistake. The game of charades both made Serina's day, and helped her be a better dancer. 

Roman gave her two thumbs up before pointing to Mrs. Yakov and and giving her a thumbs down. Serina laughed, understanding that he was complimenting her, and probably telling her to not worry about the coach.

"Thank you," Serina smiled.

"Are you going home?" Eva asked.

"Yea," Serina nodded, "I'd come over, but I'm drained after today. Sorry."

"No, it's ok," Eva draped an arm over Serina's shoulders, "I understand. Get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow alright?"

"Tomorrow," she said, "Definitely."

* * *

Serina apparated to her front door and wasted no time unlocking it and walking in. She was wearing her sunglasses, not because the sun was still up, but because they hid her eyes. On days like today, she would wear her sunglasses to cover up the struggle she was facing. Some days were easier than others, and today wasn't a particularly bad day, but it wasn't a good one either. 

Since her sunglasses were on, she didn't catch sight of everyone in her living room when she first walked in. She expected Walden and Evan to be home. They lived here too, after all. She had moved in with them after graduation. Their parents hated her just as much as they hated their sons, and she reveled in that fact. Not that she didn't like the two, she actually loved the fact that they had decided to stay together. Pissing off their parents was just an added bonus.

"How was practice?" Rosier asked from his seat.

She shrugged, looking down at her feet to toe her shoes off.

"Not terrible. Not great, but not terrible," she responded.

"Hello Serina."

Serina froze after kicking off her second shoe. She knew that voice. Turning around, she secretly hoped she was hearing things, but when she spotted him sitting in the chair to the right of the couch, she knew this was real.

"How have you been?" Tom asked with a smile.

"I've been better," she deadpanned.

Before he could respond, she climbed the stairs, escaping him and the other two occupants of the living room. Serina thought Mrs. Yakov was going to be the worst part of her day, but apparently her shitty day was just ramping up. She got in the shower, making the water hot and sitting under the stream until her skin felt raw. Only when her fingers got pruney and the water began to run cold did she turn off the stream and get out. 

Serina dreaded going downstairs, dreaded facing Tom again, but she was hungry and it didn't smell like anybody else had gotten started on dinner yet. It had been five years since she last saw him. Five years since she broke down in his arms over her father's death. Five years of rebuilding, and regaining her confidence. Five years of forgetting about the hurt she faced over his betrayal. Five years, and yet laying eyes on him she felt like it was just yesterday that she broke it off with him. Those painful feelings were still there, still very present, and she had to walk into her living room and deal with him. She had to deal with all of this in the safety of her own home.

She tried not trudging as she descended the stairs. Tried not sneering when she saw he was still sitting in the same seat. Tried to keep the anger out of her voice as she spoke.

"Anyone make dinner yet?" she asked the room as a whole.

"No," Rosier responded, "but I've pulled everything out for stew. Want me to get started on it?"

"I'll handle it," she shook her head, "Thanks, though."

Walking through the living room to the kitchen, she realized she might be making dinner for an extra mouth tonight.

"You staying?" she asked Tom, cutting her eyes in his direction in lieu of actually looking at him.

Tom looked surprised that she was talking to him, and hesitated in responding.

"Pardon?" he asked after a moment.

"Food," she snapped, "Are you going to eat it?"

"Sure," he shrugged, "If you don't mind me staying for dinner."

"I always mind," she grumbled as she walked into the kitchen.

Serina didn't get very far into making dinner before Tom walked into the kitchen. She ignored him, pointing her wand at the vegetables on the counter and working on chopping them. 

"Can I help you with anything?" he asked.

"I know how to make stew," she grumbled.

"Ok," he nodded slowly, "Can I help you make stew?"

"No," she said shortly.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

"What do you think we're doing?" she rolled her eyes.

"Arguing, apparently," he huffed, "I would like to talk."

"Then talk," she snapped.

"Why are you being so hostile towards me?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

"I'm not being hostile," she argued, "I'm making you dinner, am I not?"

"You're doing so very reluctantly," he countered, "and you've had this attitude towards me since you walked in the door."

Serina didn't respond, knowing he was right and knowing she didn't owe him an explanation. Tom didn't let the silence last long, seeing that she wasn't going to answer him.

"I'm not here to torment you," he explained, "I'm just here for work."

"You can't go literally anywhere else for work?" she growled.

"I can," he admitted, "but I came here because it's a central location to what I'm doing right now. Your cousin said you'd be gone tonight. I've tried working around days you wouldn't be here."

"So you're just using my house behind my back," she snapped.

Serina tossed the chopped beef into the pan, causing it to sizzle.

"It's not just your house," Tom countered, "It's theirs as well, and they've opened their doors for me. I'm not doing anything behind your back, I just wasn't expecting you to be here this evening. That's all."

"Oh trust me," she hissed, "I'm pissed off at them as well."

"Listen," Tom sighed, "I don't want to argue. I'm only here for work, and I'll stay out of your way if that's what you want. It was only a matter of time before we ran into each other, and I'd like for these meetings to be as friendly as possible."

"We are not friends," Serina spat.

"We don't have to be," he countered, "Can we not be cordial to one another? I'm trying to be cordial to you. Are you saying that's not possible for you?"

"No," Serina sneered, "Go fuck yourself, Riddle."

"What the fuck is your problem, Selwyn?" Tom shouted, slamming his hands down on the countertop.

Serina flinched and dropped the vegetables she had been levitating to the pan. For the first time since she got home, she met his eyes, giving him a shocked stare.

"I'm sorry," he immediately apologized, "That was…"

"Not ok," she said firmly, "Don't fucking do that. I have every right to be mad at you, and you know that."

"Yes," he agreed calmly, "You do have that right. I'm not saying you don't. I'm only asking that we tolerate each other as much as we can. Can I please ask you to at least try to tolerate my presence?"

Serina sighed and looked away. He had scared her, and it made most of her anger evaporate. At least, that was what she was telling herself. It definitely wasn't because she had looked into his eyes and seen the hurt in them. That definitely wasn't why she wasn't mad anymore.

"I can't guarantee anything," she admitted, "but I can say I will try."

"Thank you," he said softly.

Serina nodded stiffly and went back to making dinner. She had to grab more vegetables and cut them up since she had dropped all of them on the floor.

"Are you sure I can't help you with anything?" he asked.

"You can grab me the broth and some flour," she told him.

Tom not only grabbed the items she asked for, he also cleaned up the vegetables on the floor. When he was done, he stood awkwardly to her right, waiting for more instructions.

"How long have you been coming here?" she asked.

Tom shrugged, "About a month, maybe less."

"And my cousin didn't think for a second that maybe I should know about that?" she huffed.

"He did," Tom nodded, "I asked him to keep it from you. I knew that if you knew I was here it would just upset you. That's why I've been trying to come by on days you aren't here."

"That doesn't make it better," she countered, "In fact, that makes you look worse. You told my roommates to lie to me."

"I understand," Tom sighed, "and I'll take that blame. Don't get upset with them for lying to you. It was on my orders."

"You're just over there digging your own grave, Riddle," Serina shook her head.

She added the broth to the pan and stirred in a bit of flour to thicken it before placing the lid on top and letting it simmer.

Tom nodded with a small smile on his lips, "Yes I am. I guess I'm good at doing that with you."

Serina reached up and grabbed a bottle of red wine from the cabinet above her. She popped the cork and poured a bit into her wine glass before turning her attention back to Tom.

"It's your fucking specialty," she told him.

She walked past him into the living room. Dinner would still take a few more minutes before it was ready, so there was no need for her to stand in the kitchen with him. Tom, of course, followed her out. Looking around, Serina realized the other two occupants of the house weren't present. 

"Did you chase them off?" she asked, looking back at Tom.

He shrugged, "They must have gone upstairs."

The two sat across from one another, Serina facing the kitchen, Tom facing the door.

"McNair says you've been having issues with your coach," Tom stated casually.

Serina rolled her eyes and made a disgusted sound, "Really? What else has he told you about me?"

Tom smiled, "Not much. He only told me that because I asked about your bad mood when you first came in. He said you're in the Royal Ballet as well, so congratulations."

"McNair needs to shut up," Serina said a bit louder than necessary, hoping her cousin heard her upstairs, "but yes, I am in the Royal Ballet so thank you, and my coach is the reason I'm in a shit mood this evening."

"What did she do?" Tom asked, "If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"She exists," Serina huffed, taking a sip from her wine glass, "but honestly, she's just giving me shit. She's hard on me because we got off on the wrong foot. It usually doesn't bother me, but today was particularly rough."

"What did you do to get off on the wrong foot?" he asked.

"I didn't do anything," she countered, "Her daughter was up for the same role and didn't get the part. That's the only reason she doesn't like me."

Tom furrowed his brows, "Well that doesn't seem fair. Sounds like a conflict of interest to me. You should speak with your boss about it."

The timer went off in the kitchen and Serina stood from her seat.

"I have gone to my boss about it," she told him as she walked past him to the kitchen, "but she's a bloody good coach otherwise and she's been doing this for years, so they're siding with her."

"Then it's a toxic work environment," Tom stated, "Why don't you leave?"

Serina poked her head out of the kitchen and gave him a bewildered look, "It's the bloody Royal Ballet. I'm not leaving just because some bitch has a grudge. Fuck her."

"Understood," Tom shrugged, "but if you're going to stay in a toxic environment you can't let it get to you. You also shouldn't take it out on other people. It's not their fault you've chosen to stay in a toxic environment."

"I'm not taking my frustration from work out on you," she countered, knowing damn well he was talking about her attitude towards him, "You piss me off all on your own. Now go upstairs and get my cousin and his boyfriend. Tell them dinner is ready."

Tom chuckled, and went upstairs, doing as the woman asked of him.

Dinner was more comfortable than anybody had anticipated. Serina had already gotten her anger out, and said her piece. Tom didn't seem to hold any hard feelings about it either. McNair and Rosier definitely expected them sitting down at the table to be an awkward situation. They were more tense than the other two were.

"How long have you been in the Royal Ballet?" Tom asked conversationally.

"This is my first year so…" she looked over at Rosier, "about four months, right?"

Rosier nodded, relaxing quicker than his counterpart, "Four or five, yea."

"What are you…" Tom fumbled, not sure how to ask the question, "What is it you're doing there?"

"Dancing," Serina responded simply, giving him a smirk.

Tom deflated, not knowing the jargon and finding it hard to get his point across. He knew she was messing with him, and it made him look bad in front of the other two.

"You mean to ask what production I'm playing in, right?" she asked, seeing his frustration.

"Yes," he nodded, "and what part you're playing."

"I'm playing in The Nutcracker," she told him, "and my role is the Sugar Plum Fairy."

"Ok," he nodded a bit more confidently, "I've heard of The Nutcracker. I can't say I've ever seen it before."

"It's long, and complicated, and a bit hard to follow if you don't already know the storyline," she shrugged, "but my role has one of the harder sequences in it. It's two parts, a solo and a duet, and by the end I feel like I'm dying."

McNair snorted and shot Serina a smile.

"I do," she laughed, "Though I can't show that on stage, so I just smile a lot, and cry on the inside because my muscles are on fire."

"That sounds exciting," Tom joked.

"It is," Serina nodded with a smile, "I mean really. Despite the insanity I deal with, and the exhaustion afterwards, I really am grateful for the opportunity. I'm not playing lead, but honestly I didn't even try out for the lead part, because that's just crazy. The girl that plays lead does an amazing job anyways and I wouldn't have been able to top that. The role I'm playing is pretty up there in skill set, and beginners do not get this role. It's fucking hard, and it's frustrating at times, but just knowing I'm good enough to get to this point is a hell of an honor."

"Are you still practicing or are you performing yet?" Tom asked, leaning forward.

"Both," she responded, "We usually practice in the morning, then perform in the evenings."

"I'd like to see the production sometime," he said, "If you don't mind."

Serina shrugged, "I don't mind. Let me know the day, and I can get you in for free."

"It's a good show," McNair nodded, finally speaking up.

"Then maybe we'll all go one evening," Tom nodded, looking at both of his men.

Rosier glanced at Serina as he nodded, silently asking her if that was actually ok. When she returned it with a relaxed look of her own, he knew she wasn't feeling forced into this. 

When they first moved in together, Serina knew Evan fairly well already, but their friendship only grew with the close quarters. Living with her cousin was nothing new, seeing as she had done that for a large portion of her life already. She wasn't sure what to expect when it came to Evan Rosier. He could have been a huge slob, or be a guy with terrible hygiene habits, but luckily he was neither of those. Evan cleaned up after himself, and after his boyfriend occasionally too. 

He was good company to be around, and Serina was perfectly fine spending time with him alone. When she would have a bad mental health day, and be down in the dumps, Evan was more than happy to work on cheering her up. She was comfortable opening up to him about her problems, and he was always a shoulder to cry on. She had cried on him a lot, and he never seemed to mind. He knew her deepest darkest secrets, and he would never tell them to anybody. Serina trusted Evan more than she trusted anybody else. She would happily call him her best friend. 

* * *

"It's going to be so purple," Serina giggled.

"Like, too purple?" Eva asked.

"Definitely not," Serina responded, "It's going to look great."

Eva smiled softly, "Thanks Serina."

"You're coming down," Serina stated, "Do another line."

"Yea, good idea," Eva sighed.

The smaller girl leaned forward to the coffee table and snorted a small line of cocaine. She sat back, sniffling as she leaned back against the couch. Eva was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, Serina sitting behind her. Her legs were spread, feet resting on either side of the girl on the floor. Serina's hands were gloved, and the gloves were covered in purple hair dye. Eva's hair was wet with the dye, some parts still untouched.

Serina pushed Eva down and towered over her. She leaned over the girl and snorted her own line of the white powder. 

"Do you remember what I said we're doing tonight?" Serina asked, sitting back on the couch.

"Mhmm," Eva nodded.

"What did I say we're doing tonight?" Serina asked.

"We're dying my hair," Eva held out one finger, counting, "then I'm going to wash it out. Then...we're going to smoke?"

Serina sighed, "No. We're going to dye your hair. Then we're going to do a bunch of blow. Then we're going to wash your hair out. Then we'll do more blow. When we come down from that we'll be sad, right? So we'll smoke. Then we'll go to bed," Serina leaned down and pressed her lips to the girl's ear, "Then…"

The front door opened and Serina cut her eyes up in time to see Walden walking in.

"Oh…" he stopped in the doorway, "Hey Eva."

Eva waved at the man with a smile. Walden walked in, followed by Evan, then Tom. Serina placed a kiss on Eva's cheek before straightening up. She continued working on Eva's hair, covering the blonde in purple dye.

"Ummm…." Rosier started, getting Serina's attention, "We're going to need this room fairly soon."

Serina got the hint without him having to explain further. They had been running meetings out of their place for the past few weeks. It was always a small handful of people, and nobody Serina didn't know. She didn't mind, as long as they didn't cause any problems.

"How soon is soon?" she asked.

"Five to ten minutes," Rosier explained.

Serina nodded and turned her attention back to the girl between her legs.

"We'll go upstairs and let the boys be boys," she said.

Eva tilted her head back to look at Serina, "What will we do?"

Serina sighed dramatically, "The exact same thing I went over less than five minutes ago."

Eva giggled, "Just messing with you. Let's go."

Serina discarded the stained gloves and led Eva upstairs. They went into the bathroom, where Serina started a timer on the girl's hair. As soon as the timer went off, there was a knock on the door. 

"Get the water going," she told Eva, "and make sure it's not too hot or you'll dull the color."

Opening the door, Serina glared out at her cousin. He motioned for her to come out.

"What?" she asked, closing the door behind her.

"Is she staying the night?" Walden asked.

"That's the plan, yea," Serina nodded.

"Well, you see," Walden cringed, "she sort of can't tonight."

"Excuse me?" Serina asked angrily, "Why not?"

"We're having a meeting," he whispered, "Tom doesn't think it's smart for her to be here."

"Tom doesn't?" she spat, "Since when does he have a say in anything that happens here?"

"Serina," he hissed quietly, "You know how this works."

"No," she spat, "This is not how this works."

Before Walden could stop her, Serina was descending the stairs in a fury. 

"Riddle!" she shouted, cutting her eyes at the man.

He had his back to her, looking out at four men in her living room. Rosier, Avery, Malfoy, and Nott.

"Selwyn," he responded calmly.

"Where do you get off?" she spat, pointing an angry finger at him.

"I beg your pardon?" Tom growled in return.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" she said, undeterred by his glare, "You have absolutely no right saying who can and cannot be here. You are nothing more than a guest yourself."

"You would do well to not forget that I was invited," he countered angrily.

"Not by me!" she shouted, "Next time you have something to say to me, I suggest you climb these stairs and say it yourself, instead of sending my cousin like a fucking coward!"

Serina stomped up the stairs as Walden cautiously descended them.  Walking back into the bathroom, Serina did her best to calm herself down. She didn't want to make Eva think she was mad at her. The smaller girl was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, her hair wet and dripping lavender colored water.

"Should I leave?" she whispered.

"No," Serina said firmly, walking up to the girl, "I told you you're welcome to stay as long as you like. I meant that."

"Was that the guy you were telling me about?" Eva asked, looking up at Serina.

She stood in front of the girl, looking down into her green eyes.

Serina nodded, "Yea. That's him. Come on. Let's go to my room."

Together, the two walked the short distance from the bathroom to Serina's bedroom. It was quiet downstairs, and she wondered if Tom had already kicked the others out. She had probably embarrassed him in front of his Knights, and she was secretly proud of herself for it. Tom deserved to be embarrassed.

Serina closed and locked the door behind her. She walked up to Eva, who was standing in front of the bed, her back to Serina. Eva gasped as Serina wrapped her arms around the girl's waist and pressed her chest to her back. 

"How are you feeling?" Serina asked.

Eva grinned, "Not bad. Not with you here."

Serina smiled and pressed her cheek to Eva's, "Good. Do you want to smoke?"

"Hmmmm," Eva hummed, "I think I want you."

"Yea?" Serina spoke in the girl's ear, "Do you want me to please you?"

"Yes," Eva whispered.

Serina spun the girl around. Eva giggled in Serina's embrace, but it was quickly cut short when Serina's lips met hers. She melted in the taller girl's arms, moaning into the kiss. Pushing her down onto the bed, Serina straddled her, leaning down to capture her lips once again. Eva reached up and grasped onto her shirt, pulling at the fabric.

Knock knock knock

Serina broke the kiss and looked back at the door.

"You don't have to get that," Eva told her.

Serina looked back at the girl. Her purple hair was spread out on her sheets. Her green eyes half lidded, looking up at her with desire. She was just about to lean down for another kiss when…

Knock knock knock

"Fuck," Serina hissed, "He's not going to go away."

Eva sighed, but nodded, "Ok. Go ahead."

Serina climbed off the bed. She took a moment to straighten up her shirt and fix her hair before opening the door just a crack. Tom was standing patiently on the other side.

"What?" she asked shortly.

"May I speak to you?" he asked calmly.

Serina shrugged, "Fine. Speak."

"Alone," he stated, "Please."

Serina opened the door a bit wider, revealing the girl on her bed.

"You'll have to ask her," she motioned to Eva.

Tom clenched his jaw, as he spotted Eva behind her. His voice remained calm as he spoke.

"Ms. Eva, may I please steal away Serina long enough to have a personal conversation with her?" he asked.

Eva sat up on her elbows and eyed Tom. 

"Only if she wants to go with you," Eva responded.

Tom looked back at Serina, the silent question hovering in his eyes. Serina huffed, upset that Eva had put this back on her. She was hoping Eva would tell him to fuck off, and she could get back to the fun. Apparently, she was willing to throw her to the wolves on this.

"Fine," she growled after a moment.

Tom led the way, descending the stairs and leading the girl into the living room. He didn't take his seat, instead turning around and facing her in the middle of the floor.

"I apologize for upsetting you," he said, "I only recommended she leave due to this meeting. I don't think it's smart having someone here that is unaware of what we are doing."

"Are you being honest?" Serina asked, seeing it was hard for Tom to get the words out, "I don't think you're being honest."

"I may have also been caught off guard a bit," he admitted, "I wasn't aware that you were seeing somebody."

"Woah," Serina held up a hand to stop him, "Let's stop right there, shall we? Eva and I are not dating."

No?" he asked, "You kissed her."

"A peck on the cheek," she shrugged.

"Still a kiss," he stated, "I thought you only kissed people you were dating, which is why I assumed."

"That used to be true," she told him, "but then I realized it doesn't really matter, does it? I thought I could trust the people I've kissed, but that's been proven to be not true on more than one occasion. At this point, why hold out? I like kissing, and she's got good lips to kiss."

"So you are sleeping with her?" he asked.

"Yea," she nodded, "Why did you even ask that? You knew the answer to that question already. Why else do you think she's in my bed?"

Tom shrugged, looking away, "Confirmation, I guess. I didn't realize you were into women. I guess it makes sense, with your hair and all."

Serina furrowed her brows but couldn't stop herself from chuckling, "You think I'm into women because my hair is short?"

Her hair was short. Much shorter than it was when she was in school. The sides and back were shaved close, the hair only a few centimeters long. The top was draped over to one side, stopping just above her ear. She had been told the haircut had made her look like a lesbian, but that didn't bother her, considering she was completely comfortable fucking women. Those that didn't like her haircut could fuck off. She hadn't cut it to impress anybody.

Tom shrugged, "I figured you'd given up on men, and cut your hair as a statement."

Serina laughed, she couldn't stop herself. His reasoning was bizzare, but she understood.

"I've always been bisexual," she told him, "I messed around with a few girls in school, but nobody really caught my eye so nobody really knew."

"So she's just over here, because she caught your eye?" Tom asked.

"No," Serina shook her head, "She doesn't usually come over here."

"McNair knows her," Tom countered, trying to catch her in a lie.

"She's the lead dancer in The Nutcracker," he explained, "That's how he knows her."

"Alright," Tom sighed, "Then why is she here?"

"She didn't show up to practice today," Serina told him, "I went to check on her afterwards, and I found her unconscious on her bedroom floor with her front door blasted in. Her ex-boyfriend had apparently broken in and beat the shit out of her. That's why she's here. That's why I'm dying her hair. That's why we're doing a bunch of coke and getting stoned."

Tom furrowed his brows, not sure where she was going with that.

Serina smirked, "I'm the master at mental breakdowns," she explained, "Step one is dying your hair an unconventional color. Step two is getting fucked up and forgetting the real world exists."

"So you're what?" he asked, "Hiding her here and being a good little rebound for her?"

"Yea," Serina nodded, "Pretty much. I mean we're also friends, and I'm not sure how much of a rebound I am considering this isn't a new development, but whatever you want to call it."

"Oh. So you're the reason she has an ex?" he quipped.

"Are you trying to say I was messing around with her when she was still with her boyfriend?" Serina asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," he responded.

"That's where you're wrong," she told him, "I know what it's like to be cheated on, so I don't put other people through that, even if they are pieces of shit."

Tom grit his teeth and looked away. He didn't like the way she was making him feel guilty. 

"Got it," he hissed.

"Good," she spat, "Anything else? You said you wanted to talk to me, yet I haven't heard much from you."

"I only wanted to apologize," he said quietly, "for upsetting you."

"Thank you," she nodded, "I apologize for yelling at you."

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Goodnight Tom," she said, walking back towards the stairs.

Tom nodded, eyes fixed on the floor, "Goodnight."

* * *

"How long is he staying?" Eva asked.

Serina ran her hands through the girl's hair, untangling the knots her fingers caught, "He's not necessarily staying, per se. He just comes over a lot."

Eva nuzzled her nose into Serina's stomach, enjoying the feeling of her cheek on the soft skin there.

"How long is he going to be coming over for then?" she pressed.

Serina shrugged, "Dunno. He's apparently been coming over for the past month. He's just been avoiding me the whole time."

"That's, sort of thoughtful of him," Eva tilted her head back to look up at the girl.

"I thought it was creepy," she sighed, "He could just go somewhere else."

Serina lit up the joint and took a hit, holding in the smoke and passing it down to the girl laying on her stomach. Eva took it from her fingers, holding the joint for a moment.

"Maybe he secretly wanted to see you," she explained, "Maybe he was hoping to run into you."

"Doubt it," Serina breathed out the smoke, "We're not friendly to one another. I haven't exactly been nice to him so far."

"I don't blame you," Eva shifted between Serina's legs, getting comfortable, "I'd be mean to him too. He's not letting it get to him, though. I mean, when he came up here earlier he was really calm despite you just yelling at him."

"Yea," Serina sighed, "He's been fairly complacent about everything."

"He still likes you," she smiled.

"Maybe, maybe not," Serina shrugged, "This isn't a really good time to be talking about if my ex still likes me or not. I think we should at least get dressed first. Before we do anything though, you need to hit that joint before it goes out."

Eva giggled and took a hit off the joint, then passed it to Serina. 

"Do you still like him?" Eva asked, ignoring Serina's obvious disinterest in the topic.

"Haven't thought about it," Serina shrugged, "but like I said, this isn't a good time. Tonight is about you, dear. Don't worry about me."

Eva pulled herself up and pressed a kiss to Serina's lips.

"Thank you for tonight," Eva whispered, "The blow, the pot, the hair, the sex. It's all amazing. I really appreciate it."

"After the day you had, you deserve the world," Serina smirked, leaning up to peck the girl's lips.

"So like," Eva giggled, "Do you still like him or…"

"Eva!" Serina huffed, "Shut up."


End file.
